Project: Brownie
by Autumn illumination
Summary: What are some of the ingredients to a perfect disaster? One redhead who can’t cook and just a pinch of short-tempered blond. For Akuroku day.


**Okay, so I had this completely crazy idea to actually write something and upload it here, which in itself is a major accomplishment. Props for me. But be proud, because I wrote this just in time for Akuroku day! **

**And before I forget; no, this was NOT beta-ed. I looked it over though, so hopefully there aren't TOO many noticeable mistakes. I apologize ahead of time if you do come across any stupid ones-something I'm prone to do. I also apologize for the shortness of this, too. **

**Warning: Swearing, boys drenched in chocolate, kissing, stupid mistakes, and possible extreme OOC…**

**If you don't like Akuroku or boyxboy, than kindly press the back button and look for something more your taste, mkay?**

**Disclaimer: DO. NOT. OWN. **

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**Project: Brownie **

Humming quite contentedly to himself as he waltzed into Roxas' kitchen, Axel swiftly dropped the large paper bag that he had been carrying onto the counter next to the sink and pulled out a small red box from it. Reading over it, a smirk graced his face as he placed the box back down just as his blond haired friend wandered into the kitchen from the living room, a small scowl on his own face as he turned on the sink, shoving his hands under the running water. He clearly wasn't too thrilled with the fact that he had been paired up with Axel; the poster child for horribly unskilled cooks for this daunting task-daunting because Axel was quite scary when he was let free to experiment in the kitchen. But Roxas was forced to suck it up and deal anyway since his culinary arts teacher stated point blank that there would be _no changing of partner_s.

It was a week into the new school year, which meant that it was finally time to pick partners for culinary arts class. Of course, this was a very dreaded day, for the names were picked out of a hat and that was who your cooking partner was for the year. Period. No do-over's, No second chances; nada. While most students would kill to be partnered up with their best friend, Roxas dreaded it. He dreaded it worse then the first day of school, Monday mornings, going to his crummy job at the supermarket. But with his oh-so-luckiness; when the blond stuck his hand into the hat he thought he was going to throw up his heart when he unfolded the white strip of paper with the name Axel Kiragi scribbled across it. He was officially ready to except his F for the year.

Yeah, it was that bad.

Roxas would never forget the first time they were assigned a project. Since it was so early in the year, all that was asked was to bake a simple platter of chocolate chip cookies. Sounds easy, right? Well, it would have been, had Axel not gone insane when it was time to use the oven. Roxas should have known better than to let Axel preheat it. Cookies did not need to bake at 500 degrees Fahrenheit. They just didn't. Roxas also blamed himself for not checking the oven before putting them in. As for the cookies-or what was left of them at least-…the ash from the aftermath was scraped into the trashcan by an ever-so-looking guilty redhead, while Roxas tried fruitlessly to stop the smoke alarms. Needless to say, his parents were pretty upset when they learned that the oven had burst into flames.

A few weeks later, the next project required was to bake bread from scratch. After the last project, Roxas watched Axel like a hawk and clearly stated exactly what had to be done in order for their bread making to be successful. Everything was going perfectly -too perfectly- and then Roxas' cell started ringing from the other room. Cursing it, he gave Axel that _'don't-you-fucking-touch-anything-while-I'm-gone'_ look and ran to grab it. Answering it, he quickly made his way back into the kitchen to find Axel sitting innocently on the counter, staring back at him. He breathed a sigh of relief and continued his talk with Sora for a while longer before the oven beeped signaling that it was done preheating to the correct degree of 350. When Axel moved to place them in, Roxas shot him a dangerous glare and told Sora that he'd call him back later.

After the bread was finally done baking, Roxas removed the loaf from the oven and placed it on the cooling rack, smiling proudly at it. Axel tried to touch it, but Roxas slapped his hand away and shoved him into the living room to watch some TV as it cooled off. A half an hour later, they wandered back into the kitchen to see that the load appeared fine, but as Roxas got closer to it, it looked strangely shiny, so he tried to remove it. When it finally slid out, the blond frowned, fingering it.

"_Its rock solid,"_ He stated turning to give the redhead a questioning look. All he got in return was the teen rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, not meeting angry cerulean eyes. At that point, Roxas felt like bashing the rock-loaf into the man's face. He didn't want to know what Axel did to make it so hard, or even how he had the time to tamper with it in the 30 seconds it took Roxas to grab his cell phone.

The most recent failed attempt at cooking with Axel resulted when they completely burned an entire pizza to a crisp, setting the entire oven on fire, and the fire department actually had to come help put the fire out. While Roxas was dialing 911, Axel had thought water would be the best way to put it out, so he ran over to the sink and grabbed the spray nozzle, aiming it at the open oven. Turning the water on, he directly sprayed it into the oven, causing the flames to grow twice the size they were with a 'whoosh' sound, and a completely petrified Roxas in the corner of the kitchen screaming, _"AXEL, NO! STOP!"_.

That was about a month ago. Since then, Roxas was forced to clean the entire kitchen and pay for a new stove since his parents blamed him for the whole incident. They grounded him for two months and he snuck out that night to punch Axel in the stomach twice for it. Two punches for two months seemed reasonable to the blond. The worst part about the whole thing was that they still failed the project spectacularly, which only resulted in Axel getting punched one more time. Every time Roxas walked into the culinary arts class after that, he sat and seethed for the entire hour, refusing to talk to Axel. Thankfully enough, though, they moved back to baking for the time being and their final project for the semester was to make brownies.

Roxas didn't plan on having Axel help in any way what so ever. In fact, the only thing he allowed Axel to do was go out and buy brownie mix and another bottle of vegetable oil, because he didn't have any left. Axel just grumbled grabbing his keys and disappearing out the door as Roxas smirked, watching from the kitchen window as the redhead stomped out to his truck.

So, yes, Roxas had every reason to be pissed off about yet another night of failure with the redhead who couldn't cook or bake to save his life. At least this time Roxas was willing to cheat and make them from a box-something that could earn them detention if they weren't careful.

"Here's your stupid brownie mix and vegetable oil," Axel sighed, leaning up against the opposite counter, watching as the blue eyed boy grabbed a dish towel, drying off his hands. "I still don't get why you won't let me help you. Making brownies is easy." Roxas rolled his eyes as he passed the redhead.

"With you; nothing's easy." He spat, walking over to the cabinet and pulling out a large ceramic bowl. He then crossed the kitchen again, grabbing a large mixing spoon, placing it next to the bowl, and then moving on to grab the eggs from the refrigerator, the measuring cup, and the brownie mix. Axel crossed his arms across his chest, glowering down at the boy who was bent on acting stuck-up about the whole ordeal. It wasn't _really_ his fault that he sucked so badly at cooking. No one in his family could cook. Besides, he could care less because he only took the class to be with the blond.

"Ouch, Roxie, that hit home…" He joked, placing a hand over his chest to show how hurt he was. Roxas just shook his head wanly, retreating back to his side of the kitchen to continue searching for the right pans to make the brownies in. He really just wanted this night to end and preferably without a visit from the fire department. Not to mention, he was still grounded and it took a lot of convincing from his parents to let Axel come over to do this. It was understandable that they would be so adamant about allowing cooking to happen again without them being around.

Axel heaved out a sigh, staring up at the ceiling, trying to keep himself occupied while the little blond shuffled around the kitchen, getting ready for their next baking adventure. He was glad that he was a senior and didn't have to take this class again next year-not that he would, even if Roxas did it again. Part of him did feel sorry for him though, since he actually did enjoy cooking. He would have a much better grade in the class if he didn't pick his name out of that stupid hat. But as luck would have it, they did end up together and just had to tough it out for a few months more.

'_Roxas should continue on with cooking', _Axel thought idly, rolling his neck to the side, cracking it, and causing a shudder from the other male in the room. Axel inwardly chuckled. He knew Roxas hated it when bones cracked. He completely freaked out once when Axel accidently cracked the boy's knuckles. Oh well. _'But still, Roxas really is an amazing cook. If only I didn't always mess up what he did end up making, I bet it would taste pretty good.' _Shrugging to himself, he pulled himself into a sitting position on the counter and continued to watch his friend zigzag across the kitchen, before finally having everything he needed to start. "God, this is so fucking boring!" He grumbled, throwing his arms up in the air, letting out an annoyed sigh. Roxas glared at him, ripping the brownie box open and taking out the clear packaging from within it.

"Of course, because the only thing that would entertain you is if you set my house on fire like last time," He shot back, turning his back on the frowning redhead, who had crossed his arms across his chest again. He didn't look like an 18-year-old anymore, but more like an 8-year-old whose parents just scolded him for taking too much candy. "Go watch TV or something."

"I'd much prefer to sit here and watch _you_ instead of some shitty re-run on TV," He muttered as the blond's cheeks flared up for a quick second while his back was turned. "But seriously, Rox, there has to be something you'll let me do. I can't let you make this thing all on your own or it wouldn't be fair."

"When did you grow a conscience?" He scoffed, scissoring the packaging and pouring it into the ceramic bowl. Axel actually flinched at that and slid off the counter, smirking as he walked over to the blond, leaning on the counter next to him. Roxas tried to ignore his intense staring, but found it rather difficult as the blush crawled back onto his cheeks again. He was sure Axel had seen it too. It wasn't his fault that his redheaded best friend was extremely attractive-anyone could see that. There were literally a ton of people of both genders that talked about Axel like a god, which Roxas had learned to deal with up until another senior girl-Larxene, he believed her name was- tried to ask him out. He turned her down, but she managed to land a particularly indecent kiss on him, which caused Roxas to actually snap his pencil in half when he witnessed it.

Yes, when Roxas was stuck cooking with the beast, all he wanted to do was slit his throat, but when they weren't cooking and just goofing off like normal friends, he couldn't help but think about what it would be like to kiss him or hug him without it seeming creepy. Then again…normal friends didn't do that kind of thing, so he was kind of screwed. Roxas almost completely forgot about his last little heartless comment until Axel brought him out of his thoughts with his own comment. Then it was back to wanting to slit his throat. Roxas called this his 'love-hate relationship' with the man.

"Roxie really suits you since you've been acting like a complete PMSing bitch today," And he said this so casually too. Roxas' jaw slightly dropped and he fisted his hands that were lying by his sides. "Just let me do something and I promise that I won't intentionally screw it up."

Fully regretting it, Roxas sighed in defeat, handing over the pan that the brownie mix had to go into, while pointing to the cooking spray. "Fine, whatever, grease the pan and stop whining. You're the one sounding like a bitch." He watched carefully, not returning to his own work yet, as the redhead shook the can and pointed it at the pan, covering it fully as Roxas watched the buttery-like substance drip down the sides. Axel went to continue when Roxas grabbed the can from him, frowning. "That is more than enough."

"Okay, fine, what else can I do?"

Hands shaking ever so slightly with his teeth barred, he riskily handed over two eggs, a measuring cup full of water, and the bowl with brownie mix in it. He instructed to _very carefully_ crack the eggs and pour in the water that the recipe called for and didn't take his eyes off him for a second. He did what he was told without a problem and Roxas was free to grab the brand new bottle of vegetable oil and took the measuring cup back to measure out the right amount that they needed. Axel asked to do it, but after getting another hissy little comment from him, he turned away, stretching and leaned back against the counter to watch Roxas carefully pour the thick yellowish syrup up to the ¼ line. Of course, Axel just had to sneeze at that moment, startling Roxas, causing the oil to go way over the line.

"Axel!" Roxas whined, banging his head against the counter top at his friend's idiocy. Axel just rolled his eyes and went to take his rightful place on the counter across the room. He noticed the carton of eggs next to him and picked it up, slipping out three eggs in the process and smirking as an idea struck him. Roxas attempted to carefully pour out the excess vegetable oil when Axel called his attention and when the blond turned, he almost had a seizure.

"Look, Roxie, I can juggle," He tossed the three eggs in the air; catching only one as the other two immediately came crashing down, as Roxas dove to catch them. Unfortunately, he did catch them…on his head. More specifically; one in his hair and the second on his face. The gooey, raw egg slid down his cheek as he sat there, stunned as Axel just doubled over laughing harder than he had in a long time.

'_How was this humorous?!'_ Roxas furiously thought, swiping the egg off his cheek. It hit the tile on the floor with a resounding _'splat'_ and he grabbed the countertop, pulling himself up.

"Would you please tell me what the _hell_ you think you were doing just then?!" He exclaimed, grabbing the front of Axel's shirt and pulling him down to eye level. He just continued to snicker as the fire raged in his cerulean eyes. "Axel! Stop laughing! See? This is why I don't let you touch anything! You can't handle yourself!" He gripped his shirt even tighter, shaking him a little and Axel managed to stop laughing long enough to get his next comment out.

"Geez, Rox, I knew you wanted me, but do you have to be so vicious about it?" He started laughing again as Roxas quickly let go of his shirt, forcibly pushing him away, blushing like crazy. "What's wrong? You don't want a piece of _this_ like everyone else?" He asked pointing to himself as Roxas grabbed the wooden spoon, thrusting it at the redhead.

"Shut up and stir! I don't think you can screw _that_ up! But now that I said that, I probably just jinxed it." He stormed over to the new oven and preheated it to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, while Axel kept stirring the chocolate goop, occasionally picking the spoon up and watching it ooze back down into the bowl. Roxas stayed on his own side, every so often sneaking a peek at the redhead who looked genuinely gloomy. Roxas kicked himself for feeling guilty and tried to preoccupy himself with something else while they waited for the oven to heat up. Hearing a small splat, he looked up at Axel who had dropped the spoon back into the goop, mumbling something incoherent, before turning to the doorway.

"I'll be back in a few minutes," And with that, he disappeared down the hallway and Roxas sighed, letting his head drop onto the counter again, trying to ignore the pain that was pulsing through it. He didn't exactly mean to yell at him -no wait- he did, but he didn't like to do it. He just got so frustrated with the redheads crazy antics. He was beginning to wonder if he was un-teachable or something. Dragging his hands through his dirty blond spikes, he made a look of pure disgust when he felt his hands slide through egg. He was definitely going to need a shower soon.

Just like he said, Axel showed up a few minutes later, looking a little bit happier than he did when he left. Roxas figured he went to the bathroom for whatever reason and walked over to the redhead, offering him an apologetic smile. "Uh…sorry," He glanced away, as Axel's piercing green eyes caught his for a split second.

"What for? Acting like a complete asshole?" Roxas frowned, keeping his gaze down, but gasped slightly when he heard Axel laugh a little, as he ran his hand through his blond spikes, ignoring the messy egg that coated parts of it. "Its okay, Roxie, I forgive you." He lifted his gaze for a second, but lowered it and blushed when Axel bent closer. "You're too adorable not to forgive."

"A..Axel?" He questioned, cocking his head to the side. Axel just brushed past him, picking up the bowl of brownie mix and carrying it over to the greased pan. "Axel wait," Roxas placing his hand on the bowl before Axel could dump it into the pan. "I…just don't want you to pour it in wrong…"

"There is no right or wrong way to pour brownie mix into a pan, Roxas, stop being paranoid. All joking is done now. I can handle this." He said, gently tipping the bowl upside down, watching as the chocolate goop dripped out and filling up the pan.

Roxas watched unbelievably as Axel filled up the pan without so much as a single drop hitting the counter and as soon as he finished, he felt slightly…annoyed…? He couldn't get over the fact that not one single drop was out of place! Roxas felt like he was going to go insane because of its perfectness. He figured he was being a little ridiculous, but he shoved his hand into the batter and slapped it on the counter making a chocolate hand print. It was Axel's turn to look at Roxas like he was crazy.

"What are you doing?"

Roxas didn't answer him. Instead, he stuck his finger back into the batter and brought it up to his mouth, innocently licking some of the chocolate off as Axel stared at him, his face a mixture of lust and disgust. …beautifully disgusting was more like it. Of course the blond had no idea what he was doing to the redhead at this very moment and continued on as Axel just kept staring. Roxas pulled his finger out of his mouth, chuckling a little and finally noticed Axel's stare, only to blush again. "God, Roxas, do you have any idea how unbelievably sexy you look right now?"

That one little comment was enough to completely freeze Roxas. Did he just hear correctly? Did his best friend just say that he looked sexy? And licking chocolate off his finger? Woah…Roxas' eyes widened and his jaw dropped a little as Axel smirked, swirling his long finger in the mix, lifting it up to his own mouth and taking a taste. Roxas still stood frozen, staring at Axel now as the redhead mimicked his actions and pulled his finger out with a slight _'pop'_. Suddenly, Roxas was more confused than he had ever been in his whole life. Was Axel…flirting with him? But Axel never flirted with him! He took a step back as Axel dipped two of his fingers back in, pulling them out only to flick what was on his fingers at the blond's face. It hit him square across his cheeks and he gaped as things remained deadly silent. And then…a smirk crossed Roxas' face as he scooped up a hand full of the goop and tossed it at Axel, hitting him in the face as well.

"Whoops, musta slipped," Roxas purred, taking another hand full.

"Oh, no you don't," Axel grabbed the bowl away and threw his own hand full at the boy who laughed, trying to dodge it. His face missed most of it, but his hair and the cabinets received the brunt of it and he threw his. Soon, the entire kitchen, floors and walls -as well as the two occupants in it- were covered in the chocolate. All that could really be heard was the laughter of the teens as they threw the batter back and forth, slipping and sliding across the tiles, trying to get the other. Axel was successful first as he grabbed Roxas, tackling him down in the mess on the floor and sitting on him so he couldn't move. He struggled even more, thrashing about, but still laughing, as Axel lowered his hands onto the blond's sides, tickling him.

"H-hey, g-get off…of me!" He yelled as Axel grabbed his wrists, pinning them over his head. He took this time to slow his movements as he looked Axel up and down, snickering at the chocolate stains on his cheeks, chin, and arms, not to mention the stains on his clothes and in his hair. Roxas figured he wasn't in any better shape, but could only imagine what he looked like if Axel looked that messy. He was pretty sure that Axel got him more than he got Axel.

Axel brought his face closer and nudged the blond's neck with his nose, mumbling against his skin, "Mmhm, Roxas you not only look tasty, but you smell tasty, too." Roxas' breath hitched as he placed his hands on the redhead's shoulders, squeezing slightly. Roxas' mind flashed back to his earlier thoughts of Axel, and then that stupid kiss Larxene planted on him and he suddenly felt strangely possessive over him.

Axel pulled away a little and quickly licked the side of his cheek that hadn't been covered in egg. Instead of returning the action, though, Roxas grabbed Axel's shirt and pulled him closer until their lips crashed together in a sloppy kiss. Axel immediately adjusted it and took control, moving his hands from his wrists to the sides of his face as their lips moved together for their first kiss.

Roxas still had no idea where this all came from and at the moment he couldn't care less. Just so long as Axel was near, a bomb could drop on his house and he wouldn't care. At least if that happened they wouldn't have to worry about cleaning up the house. Eventually Axel pulled away, looking into Roxas' half-lidded cerulean orbs, a gentle smile tugging at his lips. He gave him a quick peck and went in to give him a longer kiss when the oven beeped, finished with its preheating stage. Roxas groaned miserably as Axel rolled off of him into the sticky mess on the floor. He pushed himself up, helping the blond up as well and they glanced around the room, both wearing twin sheepish smiles.

"Our project…" Roxas muttered, watching some of the brownie mix drip down one of the cabinets. "It's almost midnight, too. We're screwed. Now what're we going to do?" Axel didn't say anything-just walked over to the other counter and pulled out another red box of brownie mix, waving it at the blond.

"Not to worry, my little chocolate covered Roxie," He handed the box to the blond and smirked, feeling quite proud of himself, as Roxas gently swatted at his shoulder. "I saved the day."

"You're so full of yourself! Okay, what do you say we try this again?" He glanced up at the redhead who merely nodded, stealing another quick kiss before setting to work, getting the materials that they were going to need again. And this time, he actually planned on trying. They both really did need a good grade in that class.

About an hour later, both teens were sacked out on the couch, sound asleep as their new batch of baked brownies were cooling on the rack on one of the clean counters. After finishing with the brownies, they were much too tired to clean the kitchen, but Roxas still didn't care. He could deal with the inevitable punishment of being grounded for two more months when his parents returned from wherever they were to find the kitchen a mess. Not to mention, they'd be slightly shocked to see Roxas lying against Axel; his arms wrapped around his waist while his head was resting on his chest-Axel's own arms wrapped securely around his back. He twitched however, waking Roxas up just long enough for him to click the lamp off that was next to the couch.

"Night, Axel…" He whispered, snuggling back again, feeling the arms around his back tighten slightly.

"Night, Roxas…" Came the whispered reply as they fell back asleep into a deep slumber.

Roxas would seriously have to rethink his feelings about having Axel as a cooking partner.

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**Happy Akuroku day! **


End file.
